Memories of Rikash
by LiveLaughLoveFP
Summary: Pregnant Diane and Numair spend some time reminiscing about one of their friends lost in the War. Please reveiw! Disclaimer: I own nothing


8 ½ month pregnant Daine smiled gently as she watched Numair lay baby Sarra down to sleep on her new 'big girl' cot.

"We are so blessed," she whispered as Numair returned to stand beside her. He nodded silently as he took her hand and led her back downstairs.

oOoOoOo

Relaxing on the porch outside, the couple fell into silence. A few minutes later, Daine broke the silence,

"Can you imagine what Rikash would say if he could see us now?"

"Probably some smart-ass comment about how he knew before us," laughed Numair.

Daine's smile faded,"I still remember the first time we met him. Goddess he hated me. I have to admit though; I found the way he was trying to convince Maura to go home pretty funny. She would just not listen and Rikash was getting so frustrated. That was about when…"

"He flew through the barrier and I threw an onion bomb at him," Numair finished.

Daine laughed and shook her head, "I was so…frustrated when Maura didn't believe me that Stormwings were evil. She told me about how Rikash sometimes took her flying and I was absolutely speechless!"

"I bet you were," Numair replied. "You were so convinced that Stormwings were evil."

"Alright, alright I know you were right. No need to rub it in." Daine grumbled. "I have to say, one of the funniest things Rikash has ever said was when Flicker and I were going through the command posts. He caught us looking at some papers and began yelling for the humans to come and 'Get that squirrel!' If I hadn't been terrified and, you know, as Flicker, I probably would've started laughing at him. And another time, while he was trying to kill Huntsong and me, we outmaneuvered him and he flew into a tree!"

"I'm sorry I missed that," sighed Numair. "Pretty much the only time I saw Rikash was when I threw that onion bomb at him and at the end battle when he was talking to you. What did he say anyway? You never told me."

"There wasn't much to tell," Daine said quietly. "We talked about Maura a little. He stopped some of the others from trying to kill me and in return, I let most of them leave."

"Most?"

"Two of them attacked. I shot them. End of story," Daine shrugged. "Rikash was actually pretty decent about it. He just looked at me and left. I thought that would be the last I'd ever see of him."

"Until we went to Carthak. Probably not the smartest thing we've ever done," concluded Numair.

"Definitely not," Daine agreed. "But did you see the look on his face when Ozorne told him that I was behind all the weird animals in Dunlath?"

"Classic Rikash moment. He didn't know what to think."

"It was such fun to tease him about things. Honestly, it was a relief just to speak my mind to someone and not have to worry about offending them. Even then, it was like we were two friends who enjoyed a good argument," Daine explained.

Numair nodded, "He was one person who we didn't have to worry about being rude to. I was surprised that he cared enough to try to warn us to get out of Carthak. He could have been a little clearer though."

Daine smiled, "I saw him talking to the Graveyard Hag. Of course, I didn't know it was her at first; I thought it was just some old slave. I gave Rikash a piece of my mind and he just laughed at me. After that was the whole feather/prophesy thing which just confused me more. Did you understand that?"

"I did a little. I caught the magic on the feather and the 'wings of steel' part of his speech kind of gave it away," he explained.

"Then we didn't see him again until after I destroyed the palace." Daine blushed, "I'm still embarrassed about how bad I lost my temper."

"Don't worry about it. I lost mine too," Numair comforted her.

Daine smiled up at him, "Thanks. I was so upset that you had died. Rikash was too. He saw me and led the hyenas to where I was. He was so sincere when he was telling me about it." Daine smiled softly, "He actually cared. I started to trust him then."

"I did too. Its so weird if you think about it. A Stormwing is one of the last most people would trust. In the menagerie, it would have been amusing when he was taunting Ozorne if we weren't so overwhelmed."

Daine laughed, "Now that I remember it, it was pretty funny. And again, after that, I never thought we'd meet him again, let alone in the divine realms. What were you talking about before I, um, arrived?"

"Nothing really; he was just trying to convince Weiryn that I wasn't too bad 'for a mortal' and taunting me about not getting together with you yet. That Stormwing knew about us before even we did. He explained everything that I tried to rationalize away in a way that made it seem obvious," he gestured to her. "Like why you destroyed the palace when you thought I was dead. And no, I'm still not telling you my stupid theory about why I thought you did it."

Daine rolled her eyes, "I wasn't going to say anything about that. I didn't realize it at the time but he was the first one to ask what happened when I turned up after the taros."

"We; myself, Weiryn and Rikash; were all outraged when Broadfoot explained it. Rikash backed down and actually looked embarrassed when he realized that he didn't have as much right being outraged as your father and I did."

"I don't know why I was surprised when he offered us help. I should've been used to it by then," Daine gave a half smile, "I think Barzha was right; Rikash was getting sentimental."

"He was always interesting to talk to. Imagine, if you had killed him on sight, all the interesting conversations we would've missed out on."

Daine sighed, "Our verbal spats were fun. I miss that."

Numair patted her shoulder. "I do too. He was always honest with me even though he was so full of himself sometimes. I really respected him. No matter what was going on, nothing kept Rikash down for long"

Daine nodded in agreement, "During our flight, he wasn't nearly as annoying as he normally was. He taught me about the creation of Stormwings. He said something to me once, something about how he didn't know who was more puzzled by our association but I'm pretty sure it was me."

Numair sighed, "Ah, that flight. He told me that I didn't need comfort, that I just needed someone to tell me that I was an idiot. I said that I had many friends who did that already." He poked Diane in the side. "I never thought that I'd receive romantic advice from a Stormwing. And you know what's pathetic? That I got it and that I needed it."

Daine giggled, "That is pathetic."

"Hey!" Numair put on a hurt face, "That hurt! You wound me!"

"Oh stop it you goof," Daine gently shoved Numair's shoulder. They were silent for a moment until Daine spoke again.

"Rikash promised that he would see us after the final battle but it didn't turn out like that. I wish I'd said goodbye." Daine said softly.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't there to see his end. His final act." Numair responded just as quietly.

"It wasn't until after he died that I realized that he meant something to me; that he was my friend," Daine explained. "I'm glad that Jon agreed to honour Rikash with burying him with our fallen. It was a wonderful gesture."

Numair smiled, "I'm just glad that Barzha allowed it. I was afraid that she wouldn't."

Daine sighed, "I miss him."

Numair hugged her saying, "So do I."

Placing one hand on her belly, Daine gave a soft smile and said, "I think I have the perfect name for this baby."

oOoOoOo

3 weeks later, baby Rikash was born with his grandmother's blond hair and a startling pair of bright green eyes.

**A/N **I'd like to give credit to _Loten_ for her amazing story from Numair's point of view. This is where I got many of my ideas for Numair's memories. So thank you _Loten_.  
**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.


End file.
